Automation of Aircraft Movements Recording at Prague Letnany Airport

Automatic collection and processing of surveillance and flight related data is an essential task in commercial air transport nowadays. It is enabled by using an appropriate ground infrastructure and equipment onboard aircraft able to communicate and transfer data among each other. While in commercial air transport it is mandatory for aircraft of certain category to be equipped with these devices, in general aviation this is not normally required. However, uncontrolled airports with Aerodrome Flight Information Service, where most of air traffic represents general aviation, could benefit from using low-cost tools that would enable them to automatically collect information about aircraft movements. Nevertheless, for this to happen, it is necessary that also the aircraft are equipped with devices capable to transmit surveillance and preferably also other data on 1090 MHz. This paper analyzes the proportion of general aviation air traffic equipped with such devices at Prague Letnany Airport and evaluates how the automatic data collection could potentially help reduce the workload of dispatchers at the uncontrolled airports.